Post Spay Care

[ZoeyLove]

Hello,
this is my first day on your forum. I hope I am posting in the correct location.

I am a Canadian living in Germany and was referred to a vet through my husbands work.

I have a 5 mth old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. I took her to be spayed on Friday. When I picked her up the Vet was leaving the office, she did not stop to speak to me and did not give post surgery care advice. The receptionist did not speak much english ( the vet does) and she was unable to answer most of my questions. She just said for me to take the bandage off in 3 days and to come back in 10 days for suture removal. I asked if there was certain post op care I should do for the incision. She seemed confused and said no. So today I tried to take off the 'bandage'. It was actually a piece of strong and very sticky tape. This tape was stuck to the incision, to the sutures, the surrounding skin and fur. It took me almost an hour to remove the tape as it was very painful for my little pup and she was nervous, so I have her little breaks. I had to use soap on a wet Q-tip to loosen the gluey side of the tape from her skin and in a couple areas it tore the skin and made it bleed a little. I would have just left the tape, but I noticed as I started that the incision was very dirty with debris. I wanted to free the tape in order to gently clean the area. Now there is still a lot of glue from the tape that is matting together the surrounding fur. The incision is covered with this greenish blue substance and dirt is sticking to it and the surrounding fur is stained dark orange. So I have her wearing a light shirt now that is covering the area but is made of a material that is not sticking to the glue. I am mortified when looking at this mess. Is this post op condition normal? I thought the incision would be kept very clean. I have read online that I should not get the incision wet so I have not actually cleaned it well. My pup is not in any pain right now, and the incision does not look sore. However I am concerned about the glue mating the fur together around the sutures and all the dirt and debris that has gathered on the glue. I want the area to be clean and hygienic. And I want to know if this is a normal post op condition. I have a feeling it isnt and I am obviously worried. I would appreciate any advice or opinions.

Thanks

Zoey's mama

[Longblades]

In over 50 years I've never had a Vet put a bandage on one of my spayed cats or dogs. And certainly never a sticky bandage for any wound on fur. IS there any other Vet you can go to? I really have no idea what to tell you on how to proceed. One thing, was it actually the Vet who did this? Imean the bandage. Or an assisstant. Perhaps the Vet does not know the state your pup was in at discharge? Perhaps you should let this Vet know what you have found.

Not meant to make you panic, all sounds OK right now. Like you, I'd be afraid of causing irritation. The little shirt is a good idea. Hopefully some other folks will be along soon with experiences and ideas.

ETA: No, I correct myself. The dirt at the incision does not sound good at all. I'd be calling the Vet or finding another one.

[DoubleRR]

I was thinking the same thing, Longblades--have never seen a bandage of any sort over the incision. I would certainly get in touch with the vet about your concerns--it may very well be just a different way of doing things and nothing is wrong at all, but better to know for sure!

[ZoeyLove]

Ok I will give a little more info. I took Zoey back to the Vet the day after her spay. I had not tried to remove the bandage at this point. And did not know that it was abnormal to have a bandage there. I took her back because I saw that the skin was red and I wanted the vet to see it and be sure it was ok. The vet and the assistant pulled the 'bandage' off a little at the top, peeked inside and said all was fine. They then said to take it off on sunday (today). I asked if there was any other advice for incision care once the bandage was off. They all looked confused and said no. Then today as I tried to remove the tape and saw the state of her skin, fur and incision I called a 24 hr ER vet in another area of Germany (there isnt one close to me) they advised me to use the soap to remove the tape. They did not know what else to tell me to do without seeing the incision themselves. They too were surprised by the tape. I will definitely be taking her to a different vet to have the sutures removed. I plan to start calling vets first thing in the morning to try to find one that will take a quick look at the incision and give me some advice. But for today I am worried and hate to sit around waiting. Thanks for the reply and I hope to get more opinions here.

[Rgeurts]

I can't help with the bandage issue. Like longblades, I have never had a vet put a bandage on mine. One thing we did for a baby (he got neutered and had bladder stone removal at the same time) is put a t-shirt on him. You put it on backwards, put the hind legs through the sleeves then tie it around the pups waist. It will keep her from licking and help to keep the wound clean.

I would definitely take her back to the vet to have the wound cleaned.

[ZoeyLove]

i have a picture of the incision site. please take a look at this and tell me that i am not crazy to be worried to death about it. this can not be normal. seriously i am so upset today. thanks for all your advice and support.

[hazelrunpack]

Not sure what the green discoloration is from (is that just residual adhesive?) and the incision looks largish to me--although our dogs were bigger and therefore the spay incision might look shorter on them. The incision looks a bit irritated, too.

I'm going to PM a link to your thread to Dr Lee, a member who is a vet volunteering some time to the board. Not sure if Dr Lee will be signing on any time soon, but if he does, perhaps he can offer an opinion.

Meanwhile, if it were me, I'd be getting her into the vet asap--if not today, then tomorrow--if only for my peace of mind.

[luckypenny]

The blue/green looks like bruising and, while not unusual, it does look a bit excessive. Personally, I've never seen such a long incision (max. 5-6 stitches on all our female fosters) but, the actual incision site on your pup does look clean (from what I could tell of the photo). Please limit her activity for at least 10 days (no jumping, running, off-leash activity). Take her outdoors on leash for short periods of time and if she's rather active indoors, you can keep her on leash as well if you don't have a crate.

Monitor the incision site several times a day and keep an eye out for yellow/green discharge which would indicate an infection. If this happens, or if the area starts to swell, turns red, and is hot to the touch, please have her seen by a vet asap. If you have a topical anti-septic solution on hand such as Betadine (found at a pharmacy), you can gently apply it with a sterile gauze several times per day to keep the area clean. Keep your pup from licking and scratching.

Is she otherwise behaving normally? Eating and drinking as usual? Normal stools?

[ZoeyLove]

I agree, the incision looks very long to me. I looked at some pictures online to compare and was shocked at how long her incision is. The greenish blue area is not a bruise. It comes off if i scrub it, but i do not want to scrub and cause further irritation. I plan to try to find a local vet first thing in the morning. If no one in my area can see her I will drive the long distance to the 24 hr ER vet. As of right now she is resting comfortably, has normal stool and normal appetite. There is no discharge around the incision site. Thanks for all the information. I will post again tomorrow.

[hazelrunpack]

Hi, ZoeyLove.

That's not normal...and least not in the States. I've never seen an incision covered directly with tape--if there is any bandage at all, there should be gauze between the tape and the sutures. She needs to have it looked at.

The orange around the area could be the betadine they use pre-surgically to sterilize the skin. But the greenish blue substance along the sutures would concern me. It might just be the scabs, softened by being covered and be normal, but I think I'd want to get a vet's opinion on it. You're right--the incision should be kept clean and dry and putting the shirt on her was a good idea. Watch for swelling or oozing along the incision...

I would take her back to the vet that did the surgery, but I think I'd find another vet if the first one looks at it and isn't appalled. Just my ...

I hope Zoey heals up well! Please keep us posted on her progress! And when she's all better, I hope you'll share some pics of your little angel!

Welcome to the board, Zoey and ZoeyLove.

[hazelrunpack]

Jeez you guys type fast